10 Questions with Jack Tillman

[James Peterson]

10 QUESTIONS WITH...

"THE RIPPER" JACK TILLMAN

1. How is Jack Tillman?
I’m alive and kicking so I’m doing better than most people. But I’m part of the hottest stable in the industry today with the Dogs Of War, I’m racking up main events and titles everywhere I go, and I have one of the best managers with Chris Constantine. So life’s good. It’s going to be getting though in 2018.

2. What made you want to train in the Dojo of Dragons?
Wasn’t my choice. I had been training with former NJFC Global Champion Kurt Newman before joining the Dojo. He taught me everything he could after working with him for about 5 years. When the Dojo was starting up they needed students. After performing with the companies first ever show, they liked what they saw from me but they thought they could polish me up. I think it was more of a way for NJFC to keep Kurt with the company because back in the day Kurt could draw money and the Japanese crowd adored him. So Kurt talked me into joining the Dojo so that I could work on different parts of my game. The Dojo polished me up with my techniques and style of wrestling, but they mostly just beat the crap out of me.

3. How has life been for you since you've graduated?
I’ve been busy. I had been training to be a wrestler since I was in diapers so when I was told that I was no longer a student and was told that the training wheels were off.....I took off running. I joined as many companies I could because the only way you can get better in this industry, or anything in life really, is by doing it over and over again. So I’m getting all the experience I can get because I want to be the best this industry has to offer. So that’s why I wrestle in England with UKWF. That’s why I fly over to Mexico and compete with GOL. That’s why I’m associated with CWC and perform in NGW in the states. And that’s why I come to Japan with NJFC and Kamikaze. Four different styles of wrestling in four different countries. Maybe in the next five years I’ll slow down. ButI’m still young. I’m only 22 and I still have so much to learn in the ring and out of it. Plus I can recover faster from injuries or long tripes than someone in their 30s or 40s. But all in all, life’s been good since I left the Dojo.

4. What is your biggest accomplishment to date?
I’ve made a lot of accomplishments in the past year. I became the NGW Five Lakes Champion, the second biggest title with that company. I became the Junior Heavyweight Champion for CWC. Won the Lucha World Cup for GOL with Mark Storm and Devin Hearst. But probably the biggest event that put me on the map was when Mark, Devin and I won the Weekend Of Trios Tournament for CWC. 96 people. 32 teams. And we won. No one expected us to win. There were heavy favorites and teams that had been together longer than the three of us. But we worked our asses off and won at the end of the night. And since that night the Dogs Of War became a much bigger name than what it once was. Where it was only known in Japan.....it then became world wide.

5. What do you hope to accomplish sometime soon?
You know my goal last year was to get matches under my belt. Getting titles wasn’t part of the plan nor was wrestling in main event matches. Facing off against the very best the industry would had been great, but I didn’t think I was worthy of the opportunity yet. If I could get a big name in a ring with me, great. I didn’t look to win or lose. I went into matches hoping to get experience and then break down my match later to see where I could improve on. But now, I’ve surpassed my expectations and I can’t be happier by my results. I don’t let the success go to my head though because I’ve seen it happen so many times to other people and it’s a shame the ways that they’ve turned out. I’m still learning, I’m humble with the situation that I’m in and I think that’s what a good wrestler is always trying to do. To improve and get better. So what do I hope to accomplish in the near future? I hope to become the next NJFC Heavyweight Champion and to be even better than what I am today.

6. Is there anyone you're looking to face this year?
Cosmo Cooper. One of her best today in the industry today. Either it be in NJFC or over in Gulf Coast Wrestling. I’m not interested in getting a victory or losing against him either. I just want the tape to see where I could improve my game against him because I know he’d be able to pin point and attack every weakness I have and use it against me. The same can be said with guys like Bronxy and Mariano Fernandez.

7. What are your views on the Gaijin v Native debate?
I understand what’s going on because it was talked about heavily in the Dojo when I was there. They didn’t like me there because NJFC was already filled with Gaijin wrestlers. None of the major belts were won by any Japanese wrestlers. And every time a show was over, those belts didn’t stay in Japan. They flew back to the states with the Gaijin champs. Hell, the majority of the roster at the time was mostly Gaijin. So the Dojo was in a rush to train the next Japanese roster to put them up against the Gaijin wrestlers. So they pushed me hard. Harder than a lot of the other native Japanese students because they wanted me gone. The Gaijin already dominated the main roster....they didn’t want another Gaijin to graduate and make it to the main roster with the other Gaijin. So I took more beatings from the teachers and students. I had more chores than the rest of the students. And I was just pushed harder. But they couldn’t get rid of me. 20 students started in the Dojo when I was there. By the end it was myself and another Japanese wrestler. But here’s the thing with this whole Gaijin vs. native deal. Unlike most of the Gaijin roster in NJFC, I’ve assimilated with the Japanese culture. I can speak the language and I know how to read their language. Plus I also wrestler for Kamikaze Pro so the majority of my month is spent in Japan for me. So I think if more of the Gaijin spent some time in Japan and at least tried to get the language down I think here would be less friction between the two camps.

8. Who are your biggest inspirations in wrestling?
My old man, “The Butcher” Boris Tillman mostly because he was the one that broke me into the industry. He had me taking bumps while I was still in my diapers and was stretching me before I could walk. Hell, my first words were I give. Second would probably be Kurt. Once my old man passed away Kurt took over my training and pushed me harder than what my old man was doing to me at the time. Mark Storm lastly because he’s pretty much taken me under his wing and has opened my eyes to the real world of professional wrestling.

9. How did Jack Tillman get involved in the Dogs of War?
Devin Hearst and Kurt Newman always had a friendly rivalry back in the day. When I came back to NJFC, he knew I was one of Kurt’s former students so he treated me like a younger brother. Mitsuo Shimada on the other hand always came by the Dojo and took a liking to me. Probably because he saw how I was being treated by the staff and students. So after I got out of the Dojo he looked after me. Slowly the three of us just started training together and hanging out. What became a friendship soon became a stable that would later take over the wrestling industry.

10. How are you preparing going into this match against Chandler Scott?
You know I’m more walking into this match with the mind frame of wanting to beat Chandler Scott not because I want to win the Heavyweight Title from him. I want to win that Heavyweight Title to stick it to the front office of NJFC. I was the w Esther they never wanted. They tried to kick me out of the Dojo and they tried to burry me in every card they put on. The only reason why I earned this title opportunity is because I took that option out of their hands. I scratched and a clawed and I left a trail of bodies behind me to get where I am right now. The officials of NJFC put their best in front of me and I buried them underneath that NJFC ring. So I want to win that title and shove it right in front of the faces of the NJFC officials. Chandler Scott will only be a casualty of my war with the NJFC front office and it’s a shame that he’s the one that will be feeling the blunt of my rage because I’d rather have the Fed heads of this company in that ring instead of him. But I know it’ll be tough match with him and that he’s going to be giving it his all to keep that belt and continue to be the ace of NJFC. I wouldn’t want it any other way. So I’m going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing for the past year. I’m going to train like crazy, I’m going to watch film on Scott, and I’m going to let everything that I’ve learned lead me to victory. But this is my year. This is the Year of the Dog and being the War Dog of The Dogs Of War, the NJFC Heavyweight Title will be going to me.